It all started with orphans
by mist shadow
Summary: It all started with a simple question and eventually lead him to do what he was best in: save people. Together with Preventors he works in FRA, and finds family in most unlike place: among Gundam Pilots. Answer to my own challenge, more summary inside
1. prologue

**A/N: I posted a challenge for a story I wanted to read, but unfortunately nobody picked it up. On a request from several people (you know who you are), I decided to try my own hand at this. I had two options how to start the story: at the beginning or at the end with many flashbacks. I chose first, which means, it's gonna take some time before we actually see the Gundam Boys.**

**Please review, comment and give me pointers, as this is my first story, thank you *bows*  
><strong>

**Summary:** It all started with a simple question: how much money do I have? It wasn't an epiphany, or a sudden understanding. It was a first question that became a step that turned into a road that lead him to do what he was best in: save people. Eventually it lead him to Preventors and the FRA project. And found a family member in the last place he would look - among the Gundam Pilots. Would he accept them, will they accept him? What would all this lead to? And what other surprises does the world hold?

**Disclaimer:** Don't own, doesn't mean I can't play around with it.

* * *

><p>It was a relatively normal summer day in Surrey, England. The sun was shining, the trees in a nearby park rustling their leaves in a afternoon breeze, people going on about with their business, traveling by cars, public transport or walking down the sidewalks. The kids were running around as the school was out for the summer break - the longest break in the year of 2 to 3 months of no classes, no homework and no annoying teachers and getting into detentions for making trouble.<p>

It was also a typical summer day for the family of Dursleys, the residents of number 4 Private Drive, of a house and yard same as any down and up the street and around the corner. Petunia Dursley, the mother of the house, was spying on her neighbors in hope of juicy scoop for later gossip as per usual. Vernon Dursley, left for work and was due home for dinner in a couple of hours. The son, Dudley Dursley was out with his friends for some fun - in other words, searching for some poor sods to bully and practice his boxing moves on. Harry Potter, the unfortunate nephew of the house, was gardening the back yard as a part of his load of chores.

At least the plan was to garden and plant some flowers under the windows for his aunt to show off next time she was hosting a parlor tea with other gossiping women of the area. But as a matter of fact, the boy was shoveling the earth over and over again in the same spot, too lost in thought to notice he hasn't moved from it for the last 15 minutes. Reason? Something his uncle said earlier that day. But let's back track a bit to explain a bit more.

* * *

><p>You see, Harry Potter was not a normal boy. Not in a sense of a disability or being a genius. Not even in a sense of teenage rebellious stage and going against Alliance or wanting to join the army. No, nothing as simple as that. No, in this age of space colonies, world-wide information networks, instant communications and mechas, he was a member of a society for all intents and purposes stuck a few several centuries behind. He was a wizard - a broom-flying, potion brewing, robe wearing, wand waving, honest to God magic user wizard.<p>

His parents were also magical. His mother a first generation, and his father from a very old and pureblood line. Both of them were murdered at their home on Halloween night, when Harry was a 15 months old toddler, and Harry himself was dumped on his Aunt's doorstep withing 24 hours, on a very cold November night by a very strange group of people: a very old man with white beard, twinkling blue eyes behind half-moon spectacles and a color sense of a blind drunk bat, a very strict looking woman with her hair in a tight bun and a no nonsense air around her, that looked an epitome of a strict Professor from an exclusive boarding school; and a giant of a man, who was the one to bring Harry in a basket on a flying motorcycle. Minerva, the strict woman, identified by the old man, Albus, had spent the whole day previous spying on the Dursley family, and was very disapproving of them. The giant, Hagrid, was overcome with grief for the death of the baby's family, and was crying unashamedly the whole time after saying goodbye. And Albus, as an apparent leader, left the sleeping toddler with naught but a blanket and a letter, without even having the decency to ring a bell, before he walked down the street and vanished into thin air with a pop.

The very night Harry became an orphan, whole hidden society of England were celebrating the Death of Dark Lord Voldemort, who everyone You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and raising toasts for Harry Potter, the Vanquisher of the Dark Lord and Savior. For you see, this same Dark Lord was the one to kill Harry's parents, first his father, James Potter, in a confrontation in the living room, and then his mother Lily Potter nee Evans, when she declined moving out of the way in front of the crib. But when he then turned his wad on the toddler and uttered the 2 words than were inescapable death, something happened, and the spell backfired, leaving Harry only with a scar in a form of lighting on his forehead.

The Dursleys were understandably upset to find a baby on their doorstep in the morning, but were forced to take him in. But considering they were striving to be normal, and a very potent jealousy from Petunia towards Lily and everything to do with her perfect sister, one can only imagine what kind of life the little innocent was forced to live under the roof. No, they didn't abuse him, but there were slaps aplenty, a long list of chores to do as soon as he was old enough to do them and not a praise or word of love in return, while they showered their own son Dudley with all the love and affection of doting parents. He was called 'Boy' and 'Freak', and punished for anything that was deemed 'abnormal' and 'freakish'. He learned about being a wizard when he was 11, and that was a whole adventure of itself. So he was studying in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, supposedly one of the most secure places on the planet. Strangely enough for the whole 3 years he was there, he came close to dying several times and was involved in quite a few hair raising adventures. He also made a few friends, and a couple of enemies, and regained a Godfather, a convicted murderer who was innocent of the crimes he was accused of. Unfortunately, the real perpetrator was believed to be dead and a hero for stopping the said godfather, Sirius Black, and Harry and his friends couldn't prove otherwise, as the traitor managed to escape them on a very hectic night in May of Harry's third year. A night that involved a werewolf, a git of a Potion professor that had a grudge mile-long with anything Potter, a rat of a traitor, being kidnapped, injured, traveling through time, fighting alone against over a hundred Dementors with a very advanced and highly difficult spell, soul sucking creatures, and an escape in the nick of a time on a back of a Hippogriff and finally spending the night with the friends involved after a watchful and highly disgruntled eye of the school Matron in the Hospital Wing.

* * *

><p>But all of that is neither here or there. Yes, Harry's summer was more bearable this year because of the mention about his murderer of a godfather (they did forget to tell them he was innocent), that expected updates on his well-being in form of letter sent by Hedwig, Harry's Snowy Owl and his first ever present and a friend. No, what had Harry in such a pensive mood was the fact that when the day previous his Uncle made several cutting remarks to his nephew, Harry had realized that he had had no idea what his Uncle had been referring to. It was a usual dinner, with the three Dursleys stuffing their faces with food at the table while watching TV, and Uncle Vernon grumbling and complaining about everything on the news: the terrorist attacks on the colonies (should've shot them all down, colonies, meh, what unnatural place to live at), the Alliance (we have to work our arses off to provide for tax money and those idiots can't even get the network to work properly half the time, and why can't they just shoot all those abominations of the terrorists), the politics (old men spending out tax money, while we work our arses off to earn), the orphans (just shoot and drown the annoying brats as no normal people should be burdened with providing for them), etc etc. The final topic got off into spiral, when the Uncle's eyes dropped on his nephew's raven nest of the hair and he loudly announced that his nephew and his felon of a godfather should have been bombed like that priest on L2. What outrage, making an orphanage of the holy place, and then covering for terrorists. The Alliance did the right thing when they massacred the whole place, the mutts would have never been upstanding citizens and as his sister Marge, who raises dogs, says all the time, better to prune the problem at the bottom and drown the defective pups at once. Yes, good thing they blew up the whole place.<p>

Later that night, when the Dursleys had gone to sleep and Harry had been suffering from insomnia (he had too many nightmares), the talk at the dinner had resurfaced in his mind and he frowned and decided to look up everything his Uncle had mentioned. So he used Dudley's PDA (used once, and then dropped when Dudders couldn't play any games due to his sausage-like fingers) and looked up all the references and latest news. He was horrified to come to realization, that with nothing electrical working in magical places and no Muggle (non-magical) newspapers to read, he was behind on the global news. How detached he had become from the mundane world. He had spent the whole night trying to catch up on everything he had missed.

* * *

><p>So today, he was gardening and trying to make sense of everything that was happening around the world: all the disasters, the fighting, the sheer number of broken families and orphans, and how the Magic community was completely sheltered from it all. He wished he could help the kids, that were in worse situation than he was. He was an orphan, yes, but he was completely protected by being in the safety of magical world. At that point, Harry's brain came to a screeching halt, making him drop his instrument.<p>

Muggles were at war creating orphans. The Magical world had many orphans from the previous war, including him. The Muggles were trying to find and create safe places for orphans. Magical world was completely sheltered, that they never even knew about the war. The Maxwell Church offered Sanctuary to all the orphans and tried to find them families, and even took in some fugitives (before it was bombed 4 years ago, a though that Harry hastily chased away). Sirius was a fugitive. Sirius had invited Harry to live with him, and said that he had enough money to buy a palace or a castle just for the two of them. He was filthy rich same as Potters. Just how rich he, Harry, was?

* * *

><p><strong>AN: pls R&R, I need you opinion. and you can drop me a pm with ideas. the general plotline is in the HPGW challenge file.**


	2. ch1 The first steps

**[Disclamer]** Don't own, just mucking around on request from people who are fans of mucking around same as me and seeing the results.

**A/N: **Few notes: Harry here is 13 going on 14, just going into the rebellious stage with hormonal disbalance and his voice cracking, and later him starting to notice girls (all according to canon, Cho anyone?). And before you say anything against steps he is taking, I have several cousins and I asked them to give me ideas of what they would do, what steps would they take and who could influence their decision one way or the other, and also asked them to go to a bank and actually ask those questions, so **this chapter is written with the help of my 13 to 15 year old cousins**. Big thanks to them.

Also big thanks to those bank people and a friend of mine who works in a bank, with giving me some ideas on how they would have reacted to a kid asking such questions. Eric, bisou.

On reviews: thank you so much, it means a lot to get them. And I will try to post about a chapter every 2-3 weeks, but no promises. Also, no slash/het/whatever yet. I'll keep to cannon until at least book 7.

Any critique would be appreciated.

* * *

><p><em><strong>In Previous Chapter: At this Harry's thoughts came to a halting screech. Just how rich he, Harry, was?<strong>_

_**Ch1: The first steps**_

Harry spent the whole evening pondering on that thought. Even his Aunt's screech to start cooking dinner and his family's atrocious table manners didn't break him out of it, though this time he paid close attention to the news, trying to do it as unobtrusively as possible. He didn't know what made it possible in the end: him sitting silently in a corner and/or his magic answering to his wish to be as insignificant and easy to disregard as possible. He did notice that sometimes, when he really wished it, people actually ignored him as long as he didn't make any sounds or moves. When he got to his room, deep in thought, Harry decided that he needed to get more information as he had woefully small amount of it. First on agenda was to go through all of Dudley's discarded stuff, as some of it might still be usable. Only some, as Dudley had a tendency on breaking the stuff one way or the other (by sitting on it, squeezing too hard or outright kicking when in a fit). Second, he needed to get in contact with his bank, and the person in charge of his account, or at least get to the bank to get someone in charge of stuff like that to explain everything about his bank account to him (he heard his Uncle and Aunt several times on the phone with their General Account Manager and hotline). He needed to know how much money he had, because he had to get a credit for something like buying a piece of land for future orphanage. That idea lead him to realization that he didn't want to buy a building but build his own from scratch, starting from a very big piece of land, because he wanted to have a gym and a Qudditch pitch on the grounds. And he definitely needed the Pitch as he didn't want to give up the sport, and he loved the swings in the park, so he wanted those too.

His head started hurting from all the haphazard ideas floating around and crowding in his mind, leading him into several different directions, so he decided to write it down. He took out a piece of parchment and a quill, wrote down "visit bank and get to know the person in charge of my account personally, to see if he's trustworthy" and promptly frowned when the ink ended at the end of the sentence scratching the parchment surface, tearing it up. Reaching out in a small drawer in his table he grabbed for another inkwell, and not finding it, he looked into the drawer. His eyes fell onto pencils which he used to gather painstakingly when he was in grade school. Why didn't he use those? They were so much more comfortable. And the notebook next to them would take so much less space, enabling him to carry it around in his pocket and take notes when they hit him, like this afternoon.

Ok, back on track. He took out a pencil and the notebook, which was the same size as the electronic notepad(1) he used the previous day and was still hidden in his trunk after it. That reminded him, he needed to charge it, and make sure to make it a habit to check the news. And that added an agenda to the list - to check if there was anyway to make it work in Hogwarts. Actually, now that he thought about it, that wouldn't be of any use unless he had a satellite connection, and even then it was highly questionable. So he had to find an alternative - like getting Muggle newspapers. Harry made a face, he really wasn't a studious type, but needs must.

He looked up at Hedwig's cage and frowned. His snowy Owl was out delivering a letter to Sirius, a few lines that e was fine and his relatives were treating his alright (he smirked at that, they were practically behaving like he wasn't there, which suited him just fine). He frowned again: in this age of instant communications, owl post really wasn't fast enough sometimes. And that reminded him that he didn't get much from his friends. Ron he could understand, though he still got an apology for yelling on the phone (that was hilarious, though mortifying). But Hermione? She was Muggleborn, surely she could call him? Or send an e-mail. Now that he thought about it, why didn't that idea come to him earlier? And Hermione only gave him her home line. Did she have a e-mail? A mobile phone?(2) Maybe he should create one (e-mail) himself and get a pay-as-you-go cheap mobile, or see if there's one already among Dudley's things.

That reminded him, that he needed to go through all the junk in the attic. Maybe he would find something useful there. Maybe even some change in pockets of the discarded clothes (he did find some bills on Dudley's discards from time to time, especially if they were thrown at him in a fit, right after being considered trash after being ripped or dirty. (3)

So the plan so far, so to scavenge what he could from old stuff. Set up an e-mail. See if he could get a mobile. Go to the bank and get the person in charge of his bank account. Oh, see what he needed to start an orphanage. Make a draft of what he wanted in it, like gym, Quidditch field, dormitories, a small park with swings, etc. He frowned and added: "ask about getting documents to say that I am an adult, like passport, license, ID some kind (4)."

And satisfied with his rough draft of a plan, he went to sleep.

The next couple of days were very busy for Harry. The Dursleys huffed and were suspicious when he expressed a desire to clean up the attic. Luckily Harry had enough sense to express that desire during lunch time after finishing seeding the flower beds and when his aunt was the only one at home. He was very careful with sorting everything he found, putting stuff that was obviously broken to the forefront to justify the cleaning both to the Dursleys and the neighbors, giving his Aunt a reason to call it a "summer cleaning". Every working gadget and item was carefully inspected, and if small and useful (possibly useful), they were carefully hidden in his trunk (Harry added another point to his planner - get a bigger, preferably shrinkable and expanded trunk). Other things that were not small enough or were not useful for the short term were organized and presented to his Aunt.

Unfortunately, his Aunt got into the 'cleaning mood', forcing him to scrub the whole house. He had to clean the other rooms: he didn't touch the clothes, but he had to scrub every crook and cranny, up to taking down the chandeliers, clean above the antesols (A/n: above the curtains), wash all the windows, linens, curtains, etc. Harry was very thankful hos Aunt abandoned the idea of actually plaster the ceiling and change the wall papers and the floor rug (he had to vacuum that one though). The worst and back breaking were the bathrooms (for obvious reasons) and the kitchen (5). Cleaning out the rain drains was no walk in the park either. So by the end of the 2 weeks it took Harry to finish everything, he wasn't too spiffy with his own idea.

It was with aching bones and muscles that Harry woke up on Monday, July 28th(6) to realize that he didn't have more cleaning to do, and that he finally could put some of his plans to work. He had done quite a lot of thinking during the time (menial work helps to clean the head marvelously), and had decided that he needed to find out about the banks in the Muggle world, more specifically he wanted know the conditions for taking a loan. So after cooking and serving breakfast he asked his Uncle to drop him off in London on the way to work. Vernon huffed and mumbled something unintelligibly not even putting down the newspaper he was reading to glare at the boy, which Harry took as agreement.

Harry was dropped off unceremoniously at the earliest convenience, not that he had anything against it, with a growled "find your own ride back, Boy". Actually, he reflected by the end of the day, that in the end proved to be a much better solution for him, because he had to walk past quite a few shops and he made a few observations. Firstly, the outward appearances were very important and he needed to change his whole wardrobe if he wanted to be taken seriously and get proper service. An incident in a shop was a real eye opener in that regard.

_Flashback:_

_Harry was walking down the street window shopping, entering into some and looking at price tags, completely oblivious to the looks he was receiving. He saw a shop that was selling travelling gear including some backpacks and luggage. The moment he entered the shop he was accosted by a clerk:_

_- "Good Day sir. Follow me. I know exactly what you need."_

_Harry was surprised, but shrugged and followed the clerk to the isle with... sleeping bags. Harry was so dumbstruck that he barely heard the clerk gush about the low price and durabilty. He could only blink when the realization dawned on him, that the salesman - a person who was supposed to understand the needs of a customer at a glance - took him for a bum. _

_End Flashback._

After that he was more conscious to the looks he was given. And the attitude of the bank employees made much more sense to him. The barely there sneers, the outward disregard and dismissal, the request to see his parents and calling him a kid, the immediate answer that he wasn't allowed an account as a minor without more explanation. The attitude of the security personnel.

In the end, he got to the Leaky Cauldron, where he made a second observation. As long as he was dressed as a muggle, and in obviously cheap and torn clothes at that, he flew under a radar of most wizards, who only sneered at him, turned their noses, and generally behaved like he was some homeless dog out on a street, treated with disdain and/or utter disregard. Some even went as far as to circle around him, as if he had a contagious disease.

Third observation was made at Gringotts. The goblins were rude, to the point and waiting for any chance to screw you over. Oh, and bargaining with them, as long as you ignored the sneers and bared teeth (which he was tired of by that time, therefore not as polite as usual), was a must. And being blunt and demanding things actually worked much better (though was nerve wrecking). In other words, they were greedy bastards that respected force, power, warrior spirit and a shrewd bargain. If one managed all of the above with dignity without belittling the goblins at the same time, even better.

The fourth observation was also made in Gringotts, when a goblin started explaining the intricacies of a loan he wanted to take out. Harry understood that he didn't know anything about whether the conditions were the same as in the Muggle world. The whole talk went right over his head, the only words staying with him being 'minor', 'guardian signature', 'emancipation', 'money', 'expenditures', 'contractors' and 'adjustable rate'. In the end, he left Gringotts in late afternoon a bit cross eyed and when fresh air cleared his head some, he was immensely relieved that he had had enough sense not to sign the contract right there, but take a copy with him to ask his Uncle to read it through. Yes, he knew it was a stupid thing, but all those big words numbed his brain so much, that the only thought it his mind at that time had been: "Hey, I heard Uncle Vernon use those words, especially when he laughed about managing to rope some idiots into signing contracts with Grunnings on absolutely ridiculous and predatory conditions. "Served those freaks right", he would always add."

As it was getting quite late, Harry had enough sense to look into his notebook for the items he wanted to purchase, and thus remembered to buy a trunk, which turned out to be an adventure in itself, when he asked for a durable and capacious one, with security features, on wheels and muggle friendly design. In the end he had to settle for two: an proper magical trunk with several compartments and standard security measures, with addition of an feather-light charm (shrinking was impossible as it already because of the expansion charms on the compartments) and a second one, an Eagle Creak trunk(7) that looked like a big backpack on wheels and with the handle. That one turned out to be an experiment, due to demand among some adult wizards forced to travel by muggle means and therefore needing more muggle-friendly luggage.

Fifth observation was made in Muggle clothes shop. They truly had everything. Even an optician. And his prescription was definitely a wrong one. Sixth observation was made in conjunction with his eyesight - he couldn't wear contact lenses. Unfortunately. He didn't really understand the explanation. But he could do the surgery in a few years. That cheered him up immensely.

So, by the end of the day he was totally drained, made a few life changing observations, found out how little he actually knew, had a brand new (Muggle) wardrobe put into his new trunk that was currently laying at his feet while he was eating in an Indian restaurant.

Oh, and he added another item on his list of things to buy: a wand holster.

* * *

><p><strong>Explanations:<strong>

**1. **I am going with the notepad that I have myself, it's a standard e-reader, half the size of A4, but has internet connection, calculator, dictionary and a bunch of other useful stuff. Not as complicated as iPad, much much simpler, very handy and you can download and upgrade software on it no problem, though the configurations are pain in the eck to do in the beginning.

**2. **Yes, I know, in canon it's 1994, so cell phones and internet and e-mail are just coming in, but this is Gundam era, so everyone has e-mails and internet. Deal with it.

**3. **Don't laugh. Happened to my stuff all the time. My mom had to go through all the pockets of my clothes we were giving away to my cousins (I am the oldest so they used to get my discards all the time) after one time my Aunt called me saying thank you for the stuff you send, how can we send you back all the money found in the pockets. I was mortified when she laughed that she found about $200 total O_o'.

**4. **Yes, I know, those are called emancipation papers. But my cousins didn't. I wrote it the way they tried to explain it.

**5. **You have no idea how many things and places you find to clean up in the kitchen when you want it scrab it thoroughly. Completely redecorating it is actually easier sometimes, believe me.

**6. **According to timeline on Lexicon, Express arrived to London on 18th June, so he spent ~2 weeks moping around, 2-3 days on realizations, 3 days on attick and 2 weeks cleaning.

**7**. You can google it. I just picked a trunk at random, to tell the truth

**A/N: *Looks back at chapter* Umm, it's not my fault? It just ran away from me. And even then I glossed over so many things *sweat drop*. Interesting how one day can change things without changing much, isn't it?**

**Any constructive critique and simply ideas are welcome. I know where I want to lead the story, but you can help me flesh it out a lot, so anything you think might be good to be included, drop me a line.  
><strong>

**Cheers. R&R?  
><strong>


	3. ch2 The week after

**[Disclaimer]** Don't own, and don't even try. And even this fic was written under pressure of reviewers. So thank them.

A/N: my apologies for late update. The chapter was actually done long ago, but my Beta told me it was too short, then I decided to expand on things and actually write them out instead os summarizing as one reviewer advised me and got stuck . It didn't want to go the way I wanted, and when I complained to my teenage cousins, they gave me a 'look', and said: "this doesn't make sense, why would he/she do _that_? And what does _that_ word mean? We're not college students to use such complicated words." So I had to redo it several times. Finally, I asked my sister, my cousin and _my mom_(!) to write out the letters. Hope you appreciate it.

XXX

_Last chapter:_

_By the end of the day Harry was totally drained, made a few life changing observations, found out how little he actually knew, had a brand new (Muggle) wardrobe put into his new trunk that was currently lying at his feet while he was eating in an Indian restaurant. _

**Ch 2: The week after**

After having such a nice meal, Harry didn't want to withstand the haphazard driving of the Knight Bus, choosing to trade fast travel for comfortable travel, thus opting to take a train and then a bus. It also gave him a couple of hours to kill and think, which he used trying to put on paper what he wanted to have in his orphanage. He knew that it wasn't a final list, but he needed to start somewhere.

XXX

The next morning started as usual. He was awoken by the screech of his Aunt and prepared breakfast. He did chores till lunch, after which he worked in the garden, planting flowers so his Aunt could win the yearly unspoken competition of the best flowers in the neighborhood. During all this he was trying to formulate some plans and coming up short due to lack of information, experience and general idea on how to proceed. After dinner he took a deep breath to steady his resolve and made a life changing step:

- "Uncle Vernon, could you please help me out with some of the documents I got from a bank, as I don't understand them, and you can explain as the Manager in such a big company as Grunnings, and doing very good at that as you recently got a promotion."

Silence reigned, and Harry internally cringed, hoping that he didn't just sign up for a punishment of getting stuck in his room with no food or worse, and that laying it that thick will help him subvert some irritation.

- "I mean, we all want me to get out from under this roof, but we can't until I'm of age. - He wisely decided not to mention his godfather. - And the only other option I found was for me to get my own place, with your permission, so I went to a bank in London. Normal Bank, - he hastened to add, seeing his Uncle starting to get purple, - and asked them on how to get a loan or something, but they said I need your signature as a minor, so I decided to ask for your opinion on all this, as I have no idea what would happen, and I..."

He never finished, as his Uncle exploded.

- "You ungrateful freak! We clothe you, feed you and provide roof above your head, and that's how you answer us? You filthy no-good lazy freak of an abomination!"

Vernon was towering over Harry by the end of the speech; spit flying all over the place. Harry crunched over himself, and dared to put in when his Uncle seemed unable to keep talking:

- "But that's the point! I want to get a place of my own so that you won't have to put up with me and my freakishness. Wouldn't it be better for you?"

His Uncle didn't hear a word of it though. He grabbed Harry by the scruff of his T-shirt and pushed him out of the room, screaming:

- "Up to your room Boy, and don't get down before you are allowed out."

Harry scrambled by the stairs as fast as he could, and as soon as he was in his room, he dropped on his bed, thinking: "Well, that went well". Then he took out his PDA, and started reading news as became his evening routine.

XXX

The next day Harry was let out of his room only to cook breakfast and was locked up in his room after that, and with nothing else to do, he went back to browsing news sites on his PDA. A couple of hours later, bored out of his mind at the repetitive and depressing news columns, he decided to make it more productive, by searching for a place for the future Orphanage. Not that he was having much luck, as he was searching for a piece of land to build everything from scratch, and thus was on his own (1), and he couldn't even decide what size the land should be to begin with and how much he should poor into the projects. In the end, he got contact information for several estate agencies, but all the legal jargon on the sites was going over his head.

That evening he was surprised to be called down to the living room where his relatives were waiting for him. He was ordered to bring in the contract he got by a very disgruntled Uncle, who then proceeded reading it, getting purple the more he read.

- "I agreed with Pet to at least give your stupid arse a chance, and this is how you repay us? This postulates for us to sign as your guardians, essentially making us pay with our hard earned money for all the expenses, while you give nothing. And what's worse, after everything is done, the dead is gonna be in your name and we won't get a penny. And this, this! - Vernon practically dragged him down from a chair all the while shaking the papers in the air, - This practically says that if for whatever reason we can't pay the down payment our whole place goes to them. OUR HOUSE, MY CAR GOING TO THE BANK! That's not gonna happen, you freak! - The last part was practically hissed into Harry's terrified face, while Aunt Petunia let out a sound between a horrified gasp and an indignant squeak. - Now listen here, Boy. If you ever try to get a paper with a bank, never, you hear me! NEVER put our names and our address on it, as we will not pay a penny for you. Now get out back to your room!"

Harry hightailed from the living room as fast as he could. He was just glad that he got a standard loan agreement form from one of the banks he visited on his trip, as he highly doubted his Uncle being reasonable with a contract made by 'his people' after this debacle.

XXX

After the whole disappointing, though not that unexpected incident, Harry took a few hours to re-evaluate his plans. Or at least attempt to, without much headway. It was Hedwig, flying into the open window, which gave him an idea. An idea so obvious, he hit himself in the forehead for not thinking about it sooner. Of course! He could write Hermione, who had muggle parents and their own practice of Dentistry no less, for advice and instructions.

_Hey, Hermione,_

_I wanted to start a project, but am hitting road blocks on every corner. I don't even know where to start and how to put this on paper. Ok, you know that my home life is not the most stellar. So I had this idea - I want to start an orphanage for all the kids left on the streets or with hateful relatives like mine. But I have no idea where to start, and when I went to a bank to get a loan for it, I had no idea what to ask for, and I, can you imagine? even asked my Uncle for help._

So, _with all the books on law that you went through last year, I figure if you know what's a proper procedure to open a business and buy a property. Specifically, I want to buy a piece of land, and build an orphanage there. Can you ask your parents on how it's done in muggle world, for comparison? Hedwig will wait for you to answer._

_Harry_

_PS: the answer is green_lily, yahoo to US search networks (2)._

_PPS: do you know how to get a mobile? Is it worth it?_

Harry hoped that Hermione would understand that it was not a light hearted question, and would be smart enough to get the hint to answer via e-mail he gave her.

- "Hey girl, can you take this to Hermione? And wait for her to answer. Oh, and greet her parents and make sure that Hermione talks with them in regards to this letter, ok?"

Harry tied the letter to her leg, when Hedwig nodded her head in understanding. She preened his hair, as if asking him to keep safe and took out the window, with Harry tracing her against the sky until her silhouette vanished.

- "Back to business then." - He clapped his hands, ruffled his hair, and sat down at the table with his PDA searching for a piece of land he would want to start his place at.

XXX

The rest of the week passed as usual: Harry was doing all his endless chores under the unforgiving sun rays or his Aunt's piercing gaze during day time, and searching for a nice place to start his orphanage and reading news in general by night. It was weekend when Hedwig returned with quite a large parchment attached to her leg. Harry scrambled to untie it and feed and offer water to Hedwig as she seemed tired. The snowy owl hooted in appreciation and tiredly folded her wings afterwards and went to sleep. And Harry opened the letter, or to be more precise unfurled several long parchment rolls. He started from the one on the top.

_Harry,_

_How was your summer so far? Hope your relatives are treating you fine. I looked up and wrote down everything I know about how to get a business started, you wouldn't believe how many books I had to go through for that. I wrote them all on separate parchments for easier navigation. So first page is about the general laws of opening a business: what kind of documents you need to fill out__,__ what Ministry department you need to register it with__,__ and other important points. The second one is on how to get a business started in general, and I need more specific information on what kind of business you mean, so I can conduct proper research, because it all depends on what you want to do, but I researched all the common steps that you need to take first, so you should be fine until I get more specific information. And I wrote ways to buy a property on the third parchment, and the easiest and most secure way is through Gringotts, but there are other options depending on how big and what conditions._

Harry smiled at the long-winded sentences, almost hearing Hermione's voice in lecturing mode, barely pausing to take a breath before launching into another long sentence.

_Now, how DARE you make Hedwig tag along until I talked to my parents? I am perfectly capable of getting this information on my own._

Harry was taken aback and surprised with Hermione being cross with him for writing to ask things from her parents, as she went on complaining for almost half a page, ending with:

_In the end__,__ we decided to write it separately, just in case, as having more sources is, of course, better. I'll attach their letters to mine, before sending it._

_Now, about those mobile phones. I checked them out, and they are completely unreliable and expensive. You need to have at least a yearly subscription and use it at least once a month, which is inconvenient for us, as we spend 9 months in Hogwarts, and no electronic devices work there. And in the contract it says that if the number is not in use for3 months (or 6 in some cases), you lose subscription and they would probably not reimburse you for it. And the signal is not reliable as it gets high jacked all the time, so we're better off using owl post._

_Anyway, hope you are doing all right. Did you finish all your summer homework? You know how important it is. I finished mine within the first week back. Right me back if you need more explanations._

_Hermione._

Harry chuckled. That was Hermione through and through, worrying about homework more than about anything else. He frowned at the information on the mobiles, but sighed in resignation. He put down Hermione's letter and un-scrolled the other pages, and started reading with a feeling of trepidation at the sheer length of the parchments.

XXX

It took Harry a few hours to sort out through all the information Hermione sent him, admit that he was in over his head, and didn't understand most of what was written. He wondered if Hermione actually understood everything she wrote or if she simply copied everything that she deemed important or related enough. The whole process seemed very complicated with many documents required, and when he tried to write them out on a separate piece of paper, he soon got lost in references and same files called by different names. So, with his eyes going cross-eyed and his brain feeling like mush, he decided to put those parchments away to try to work them out later, and took out pages underneath them. These pages were completely different, as they were written on lined notebook pages of A4 format.

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_My name is Dan, and I am Hermione's father. I thank you for an opportunity to try and connect with my daughter more, as I am afraid that we are getting more and more distanced with no common interests and topics to discuss. Even though, this action seems to have raised her ire, I sincerely thank you again for this chance to get closer to her and talk about future prospects. As she cannot show us the magic she studies, we can only hear stories from her, and take her on her word__.__ And even though, Hermione has a brilliant mind, she lacks life experience overlooking some things, which we would like to address before it's too late._

_From the letters she sent us from previous years me and my wife knew a few things about you, of course. However, this is a much better opportunity for me to get to know one of the boys my daughter associates with and get another opinion about what is going on in that school of yours. This in no means implies for you to report what Hermione does, but I would like to get a different view on some of the things that happened to my daughter, as she seems to dismiss certain things as inconsequential._

_Now that the rant of a worried father is done, let me address the topic that started this. As I understood, you want to start a small business, and trying to get information on how to proceed. From my daughters rant while she was researching, I understood that some procedures seem to be different. What worries me is that she only seems to get her information from books, which is good for most part, but every Encyclopedia has to be constantly updated to have the latest information, and most books I saw from Wizarding World seem to have been out-of-date for several decades if not centuries. I urge you to use internet for certain information, such as official web-sites of companies that provide start-up capital for infant businesses. In the off chance that procedures are actually very different, I would advise you to ask the bank for the options it can provide._

_I can provide you with details on how our dental practice came about. Unfortunately, it would be too complicated and __incomprehensible__ in large part due to the __tangled bureaucratic procedures involved. With that in mind, I want to request what kind of business you want to open, so I can get some idea on how to proceed, and for us to agree on a time to meet, so I can explain everything in person, as I am afraid, I have no talent for explanation on paper. This way you can ask your questions immediately and we can minimize the risk of forgetting some major point or misunderstand each other. You can either give time and day though letter, preferably in the evening or you can call our home or our dental practice on the following numbers so we can negotiate it._

_Sincerely,_

_Dr. Daniel Ortega Granger_

Harry put down the letter, deep in thought. Hermione's father seemed like an okay bloke and he even offered to explain everything in person, even going as far as giving him several means of contacting him. Even though he didn't actually tell him much on the topic itself, he pointed him to the starting point. Harry decided to read the second letter coming to any decision.

_Dear Harry,_

_First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Dr. Evelyn Granger, but you can call me Eve or you can guess, I am Hermione's mother. She told us so much about you and Ron, and I am very glad that she's happy and have friends to back her up in the magic school, a place where unfortunately we cannot follow._

_Me and Dan were asked, by your prompting, if I understood Miya(3)__'s grumbling, to help you out in a complicated matter of opening a business. Well, we d__ecided that Dan will explain you all the intricacies of that, and me, as a woman, I will take up the administrative and financial aspects of the deal. Now, remember, it is very important to divide responsibilities, as one person cannot know everything. It would be a good idea to ask around and see if people are interested in this kind of thing._

_As I understood, you want to open an orphanage. Did you consider taking over an existing orphanage? This way you'll already have people who know how and when to pay bills, taxes and fees, and you won't have to search for caretakers, groundkeepers, teachers and other personnel that you will need. Not to discourage you, but this is a very big project you are taking up. I would advise taking a few months to actually write down a business plan with timelines. You are still a teenager, so you can wait until you finish school before starting the project, and you can actually take some things from your school. Note what you like or don't like about your school: building, territory, sports, clubs, teachers, etc. It's always easier to start from something you know. Put down some notes now, and we'll add to them as we go. _

_To give you an example, I compiled a list of the first steps one needs to take to open an educational institution, such as school(4):_

_a. Go to the City Hall to find out where an orphanage can be opened and on what conditions (can you open a new one, or if you can take an existing one and redo it). Get a list of all the required documents. Write official letters to appropriate departments that are involved with similar projects. Receive an official letter from the Marie and Department of Education and all other departments that are directly and/or indirectly connected to opening an orphanage and a school._

_b. Find an appropriate building for opening the orphanage: school building, dormitory, administrative buildings, gym, etc. Appraise the price of the existing structure and whether it needs upgrading and refurbishing (touch-ups, complete, refurnishing, etc), how much is it going to cost._

_c. Find a construction company and ask the price of an orphanage project, either from scratch or an existing standard one. Ask the price of modifications and changes to a chosen ready project. Get a list of materials and __смета__and their cost._

_d. Find an investor. Even in case you have a sufficient amount of money to start the project, it's a good idea to find an outside investor for a loan._

_e. Hire the chosen construction company to make the __repairs__ or the full scope of the construction from foundation up._

_f. Hire a designer for interior (construction provides exterior) design._

_g. Buy the equipment, furniture, lights, etc._

_h. Pass the commission and receive permit for putting the buildings into service._

_i. Hire the teaching, cleaning and administrative staff._

_j. Give an ad into all media about opening/re-opening of the orphanage/school to get attention of potential students and/or their parents/guardians._

_k. Inform the Department of Education of the opening to receive the governmental subsidies and potentially a list of possible students (there are many more kids on the streets than there are places that can take them in, and if the school is magical, the government will have better means of getting their attention)._

_As you can see, it's a very long and daunting process, but this list should help you take first steps._

_Bisou (5),_

_Evelyn. _

_PS: I want to ask about some of the adventures that Hermione had in the school, as some things she said don't match up with the notes we received, if that's okay with you._

Harry's head was swimming with Hermione mom's style of jumping all over the place and changing tones. Fortunately, he had a few years of experience of following his best's friend's thinking out loud on an interesting idea or question, when she jumped from idea to idea the same way. He chuckled, guess he knew where Hermione got her enthusiasm and curiosity, and the habit of making lists. It also sounded like Hermione was keeping or at least smoothing over some of their adventures, and her parents were getting suspicious. He gulped. He really hoped that he's not going to get in trouble with the Grangers. Well, there was no need to fret until he met them. Meanwhile, he would follow Evelyn Granger's advice and write down what he wanted in his orphanage. He already started the list after all.

Harry decided to call them the next evening to set up a meeting time.

XXXX

**Explanations:**

**1. The process of buying a property varies in US and UK; for reference, read this article: refinancemortgages(dot)com(slash)real-estate-agents-uk-usa(dot)php**

**2. Cookie to anyone who got the riddle, not that it's so hard****.**

**3. Yes, it's not a standard shortening of Hermione's name, but my family always somehow ends end giving nick names that have nothing in common to our real names, or quite a far stretch, so I thought it'll be fun to do it. Also, I don't like name Mione.**

**4. Yes, I understand that this seems awfully complicated, but I needed this to explain why Harry can't just snap his fingers and everything is done. It's not gonna be mentioned later.**

**5. That's French for "kisses", usually can be understood as simply "Cheers" in signature.  
><strong>

**Thanks: to my friends and family for putting up with me. And to my reviewers: **Haunt of twilight, Loraliell, soulknight121, I Just Won A Free Toaster Oven, AmaltheaLuchiaAizen, Signora Lilium, Draghen De Sanglant, xXxOtAkU-444xXx, mute-by-choice, Cynthia Joy Finnegan, Star Fata, anne, Maiden of Books, zafaran, neela organa of rogue, domsijohn, Elspeth, history, Daenin, Jisa, haji jaku, shebajay, Noctisis Rrhagia. **special thanks to** gender-bender-lover-101 **for review that made me realize that I haven't updated and put my ass in gear**.

**R&R, pls. Tell me where I can improve and if smth is confusing.**


End file.
